Starting my Quest to Land 100 Super Bull Bluegill

Friday was my first day in my quest to land 100 super bull bluegill in the next six weeks with the fly rod. This was the same challenge I made for myself last year and I actually made it to 85 before the tornadoes came through Alabama and shut down the electricity for two weeks.  After that happen the window to land the really big boys had past. The average big bull bluegill is over 8 ounces. These fish spend only a short period of time in shallow water, which is during the spawning period. Once the spawn is over they move back to deep water and stay there until the next spring. Sure you can still land the 5 or 6 ounce but the 8 and over are all feeding in deep water. So my goal this year is to actually accomplish this feat in a six week time period. I will post my progress as I try to move closer this year to my 100 mark. Friday was a slow day because of water temps again being in the mid 60’s. I did manage to start my quest by landing three in the 100 club. All three of these bulls were between 8 and 9 ounces. So I now have 97 to go. I will be making a couple of trips each week which should enable me to add a dozen or more each trip.

Unreal fight on the 3wt --he killed the Black Gnat

Really orange belly on this one right after I landed him, the Gnat again

This Moth was awesome for me last year early. It has an extremely light landing. These fish are so weary early in the year, so a light presentation is crucial to land the bigger bulls.

Most of the nooks in the lake were covered with pollen, which made it harder to fish on top. A lot of  the fish were just swirling under the fly and not really taking it. I lost twice as many as I landed. I did manage to bring home 10. Three were the big males and the rest were females. I broke off twice and never saw the fish, which was super frustrating. As I mention last year this lake has some of the largest  bluegill in the state. It is managed well and the caretakers takes great pride in producing super bluegills.